NanoCollege deal is for kids

Troy Children's Museum getting $5M from UAlbany to become high-tech hub for young minds

Published 7:06 pm, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Alain Kaloyeros, senior vice president and CEO of College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering addresses those gathered for an event on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 at CNSE in Albany, NY. The press conference was held to announce that the Children's Museum of Science and Technology will be integrated into CNSE. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Alain Kaloyeros, senior vice president and CEO of College of...

Paul Fahey, bottom right, chairperson of the Children's Museum of Science and Technology Board of Trustees addresses those gathered at an event at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Albany, NY. The press conference was held to announce that the Children's Museum of Science and Technology will be integrated into CNSE. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Paul Fahey, bottom right, chairperson of the Children's Museum of...

Deborah Onslow, at podium, CEO of the Children's Museum of Science and Technology, addresses those gathered at an event at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Albany, NY. The press conference was held to announce that the Children's Museum of Science and Technology will be integrated into CNSE. Also pictured on stage is Alain Kaloyeros, left, senior vice president and CEO of CNSE and Paul Fahey, right, chairperson of the CMOST Board of Trustees. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Deborah Onslow, at podium, CEO of the Children's Museum of Science...

Alain Kaloyeros, left, senior vice president and CEO of CNSE and Paul Fahey, right, chairperson of the CMOST Board of Trustees sign an agreement at an event at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Albany, NY. The press conference was held to announce that the Children's Museum of Science and Technology will be integrated into CNSE. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Last year, CMOST attracted 81,000 visitors. But Paul Fahey, chairman of the museum's board, said the hope is that CMOST can be brought "to the next level" by affiliating with the NanoCollege.

"It really gives the museum another shot of adrenaline," Fahey said. "We think that the region deserves this kind of opportunity, and we're really delighted."

Fahey said that under the terms of the agreement, the museum will keep its staff of five full-time and nine part-time employees. He said the deal is not being done because of any financial struggles, although the museum carried a negative fund balance in 2010 and 2011, according to a review of the museum's federal tax filings — meaning it had more liabilities than assets in those years.

The current CMOST board members will remain, and seven additional members with ties to the school will be added.

Two of the board members have already pledged significant corporate support for CMOST, including $100,000 by M+W U.S., the Watervliet construction firm that built much of the NanoCollege's semiconductor research facilities.

Deborah Onslow will also remain as CEO of the museum, and she will have the "interim" label removed from her title. Alain Kaloyeros, the head of the NanoCollege, said keeping Onslow on to lead the museum was a significant part of the deal.

Onslow, the former president of WMHT, which operates public broadcasting TV and radio stations, says that even toddlers get interested in science and technology, which makes CMOST an integral part of the region's high-tech education infrastructure.

"What a better place to start than with little kids," Onslow said. "They can learn a lot. They can get engaged."

Kaloyeros said he envisions that within two to three years, CMOST will also establish operations at the school's Albany NanoTech campus on Fuller Road while keeping the North Greenbush location. And there could be additional "nodes," or outposts, in other parts of the state where the NanoCollege has established satellite operations.